Activities

ChemEd X activities are student-centered resources intended to aid learning chemistry topics.

ChemEd X encourages engaging activities where students (with guidance from the teacher) pose questions, analyze data, and make observations to offer a plausible explanation supported by data and consistent with physical observations.

activity

Determination of Citric Acid in Candies

// Thursday, May 3, 2018 • Andrea Amato

Citric acid is a weak tricarboxylic organic acid. It is highly soluble in water and, once it dissolves in that, it shows weak acidity but a strongly acidic taste which affects sweetness and provides a fruity tartness for which it is widely used to complement fruit flavors in the food and beverage industry.

Types of Ionizing Radiation Lab and Simulation

// Friday, April 27, 2018 • Lauren Stewart

Editor's Note: As many teachers are preparing to teach online, we are revisiting posts from the ChemEd X archives like this one that might be of help. The author has updated this activity by adding notes specifically to help those teaching remotely. This activity was originally published April 27, 2018.

Acid Base Speed Dating

// Tuesday, February 20, 2018 • Kristen Drury

The unit of acids and bases is difficult for most students in Advanced Placement Chemistry. The variety of various calculations can be overwhelming. I decided it was time to make the pH calculations more exciting.

Break the Ice with Mystery Blocks

// Thursday, February 15, 2018 • Stephanie O'Brien

In an effort to align my lessons with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I have tried to take the content I have traditionally taught, and shift the design to focus on student engagement with the science and engineering practice

An Elemental Understanding of Isotopes

// Saturday, September 30, 2017 • Bernadette Harkness

In January of 2017, Chad Hustings wrote a blog post, Isotopes, Nuts, Bolts and Eggs, about an activity some colleagues and I had shared in a workshop at BCCE in 2016.

My First Lab of the Year

// Tuesday, August 22, 2017 • mamorgan@me.com

This was my first week of classes. It is the beginning of the 30^th year that I have been a high school teacher and the 28^th straight year I have been in the same physical classroom. Shockingly, all of those in the same school (yes I meant it to sound that way).

An Activity to Demonstrate the Principles of Chemical Kinetics and Equilibria

// Friday, August 4, 2017 • George Parris

Over the last ten years I have taught general chemistry at several junior colleges, frequently to students who have limited background in chemistry and weak mathematic skills.

Build Your Own Hoffman Apparatus

// Tuesday, July 25, 2017 • Deanna Cullen

Chad Hustings blogged this past school year about building his own Hoffman apparatus for each group of students.

Soap Making

// Saturday, July 8, 2017 • Heidi Park

My first year teaching chemistry, I was looking for a soap-making lab or activity that I could run in my chemistry class with 25-30 students working at the same time.

Increasing Access to Stoichiometry Through Differentiated In-Class Practice

// Tuesday, July 4, 2017 • Tracy Schloemer

In a recent post, I shared sample quiz questions as to how I have differentiated assessment within the mole unit. Here, I will share a specific multi-day sequence within the stoichiometry unit.